Organizational Discombobulation

Are things falling apart all around you? Have you been hit with discombobulation? This fast paced video turns our prevalent notions of sense making on its head. It’s always bothered me that when we talk about story we usually talk about stories requiring Beginnings, Middles, and Ends. I don’t disagree. I’ve finally been able to put my finger on what I felt compelled to articulate…

Watch and see what discombobulation, stories, and a new way of thinking about stories adds to your current way of thinking about them. Then be sure to add your voice to the conversation, after all stories beg us to co-create with each other.

Organizational Discombobulation from Terrence Gargiulo on Vimeo.

IMAGINATION IN ORGANIZATIONS

What role do you think imagination plays in our organizations?

My family’s recent trip to Disneyland tickled my imagination

It’s a small world is stilling vivid for me. So many beautiful countries, customs, symbols, joined in a chorus of diverse kinship

All of this made me pause to think about the role imagination plays in our lives and what place does imagination have in our organizations? Can such a child like capacity have any relationship to bottom line imperatives?

WATCH THIS TWO MINUTE
VIDEO CONVERSATION STARTER

Imagination in Organizations from Terrence Gargiulo on Vimeo.

There are the obvious ways that imagination can be put to work in our organizations by driving problem solving, stimulating innovation and guiding creativity but these are not enough for me… I want to see how imagination touches our capacity for awe and wonder and how these deeply human expressions are operating even within the walls of our organizations

I am enamored with patterns – must be why I am such an afficiando of stories and narrative. I gaze at these animations of fractals and I begin to intuit a fascinating connection between how we are mini pattern generating contributors in a large ecosystem propped up by some structure

Could it be that imagination allows me to extend myself into a set of repeating possibilities? If I cannot directly apprehend or manipulate all the bytes of sensory and cognitive stimulus shaping my world maybe I can use my imagination to propel myself into a wider orbit …there I can be guided by the gravitational potential of bodies…ways of being and experiencing the world that are different than my own

Imagining who and how we are is vital to sense making and it never stops – whether we are in the private space of our own reverie or influencing organizational decision makers. Our capacity to encounter others…and to imagine frames of references other than our cherished set of values and beliefs is a creative act of monumental importance. The future speed of business is unlikely to accommodate anything less. What can you do to rev up your capabilities. Our performance depends upon it.

I'd love to hear your thoughts...

Organizational Change Management

The Greek philosopher Heraclitus said…

“Everything flows and nothing stays fixed.”

In other words you can’t step twice into the same river. Habits are the ingrained patterns of behaviors and thoughts that we habituate. Change takes us outside our familiar zone of comfort.

There's a paradox here. Change is as natural to us as is habituation. Think about your body. Within seven years almost every cell in your body is replaced. There’s nothing permanent or stable about life. However, our perceptual system is designed to perceive the world as stable. If it weren't, we would have an awfully hard navigating the world.

For me change management is not about creating stability in the face of chaos; rather, it’s about giving people tools to imagine new possibilities.

What does a Greek philosopher, a raging river and the game of Fluxx have in common. Watch this two minute and see:

Organizational Change from Terrence Gargiulo on Vimeo.

Create organizational and communication processes that are structured but flexible. Then let the possibilities emerge and the game begin.

How have you managed organizational communication and learning in your organization to support change/ How have stories been a part of that process? Have you considered how you might work with story-based communication processes to stimulate engaging, healthy responses to the raging change we find in our organizations?

INTERESTED IN LEARNING MORE ABOUT THE GAME...

Strategic Communications & Chess

What might chess teach us about the nature of strategic communications in an organization? And what's the connection with stories?

Join me for another 2 minute video as I explore these questions and offer two, "P's" of strategic communications.

Strategic Communications & Chess from Terrence Gargiulo on Vimeo.

These two ideas are hardly the beginning of a conversation. Can't say it all in two minutes and neither can one person.

Take a moment and reflect on the game of chess and then share your thoughts of the other ways chess informs our ideas of strategic organizational communication. And for crying out loud...if you've got a story about chess start divulging!

Waves & Organizational Stories

"We are connected through meaning. Stories manifest our being. Fluctuating variations pierce placid surfaces of possibilities."

The waves of the Asilomar Coastline in Monterey, California act as a backdrop for some thoughts about the nature of stories in organizations.

Waves & Organizational Stories from Terrence Gargiulo on Vimeo.

How are you working with stories in your organization? What metaphors best describe your work and expectations?

Stories & Fire

Fire is a wonderful metaphor for understanding some of the subtleties of stories. Spend two minutes with me and reflect on what light fire can cast on our understanding of stories...

Terrence Gargiulo - Stories & Fire from Terrence Gargiulo on Vimeo.

In what ways are fire and stories related to you?

Round-up StoryMatters Episode 7 - Words & Stories

If you haven’t had a chance read the blog entry before this one - it has three 99 word stories from our last StoryMatters Episode.

After Brian shared the stories posted in the last blog entry, I reflected the stories back to him. In the process I look for some key words to help me index (pinpoint) something central in the story that stands out for me. These index words are the gateway to finding my own personal stories that are associated with the 99 words stories. I use the 99 word stories as trigger for my own story reflection.

The three words from the stores that jumped out for me were:

IMAGINATION
COMPREHENSION
PROBLEM

I then proceeded to tell some stories of my own...I shared a story of a year in Budapest living in Communist built apartment complex, without a working phone, the beginning of Desert Storm with CNN images of smart bombing, my father in the hospital for heart surgery and no way for me to get back home, reading a book in my apartment - Swiftly Tilting Planet by Madeline L'Engle (Mad Dog Bonzgo and WWIII) when the lights in the entire city of apartment buildings go out - I felt so vulnerable I crawled to my bed and did not move for 12 hours...

I told another story about a 30 year old hotel worker and the depth of experience and knowledge about a place that was otherwise falling apart. It had been a grand hotel - this guy had not only knowledge, but deep comprehension ... he had ideas of how and what the hotel could do to make things better but given his lowly position no one was talking to him

The last story I shared was about watching how more often than not people's initial grievances and complaints with large scale software implementations face away and settle with a little time and patience. More problems are created by over reacting to problems too quickly or soon.

Brian then shared a stored about having to facilitate a workshop in a loud school gymnasium. When he reframed his annoyance into a challenge of imagination by pretending it was the launch deck of the Star Trek Enterpise his whole attitude changed and his it no longer became an onerous task to ignore the initial noise and distractions


After our stories we opened up the discussion tot he group. We asked them to reflect on the relationship between the words

IMAGINATION - COMPREHENSION - PROBLEMS

Here's what people had to said. Of course other stories were shared too...

Imagination enables us to choose the frame we use to interpret or
comprehend a situation

With imagination, the "frame" of our comprehension becomes more flexible
than we might have thought.

You can't make a problem go a way by imagining it differently but you
can change its severity or intensity

Comprehension is driven by the frame we draw around something and that
frame can be flexible with imagination

We can never erase our frame entirely; can never fully see something
from another's perspective

Being circumspect about our attitude allows us to flex our frame

Using our imagination to practice flexing our frame of reference teaches
us a level of tolerance for the sometimes unusual frames that other
people are using

Imagination and comprehension are necessary for good problem solving

I think it takes first comprehension and then imagination to take a look at what is perceived as a problem and reframe it as not a problem, or perhaps discover solution

Problems are best solved with complete comprehension plus imagination thrown

Okay so what words stand out for you from the three stories?
What do you see as the relationship between these words?
And, most importantly...what stories can share that are triggers/associated with these words?

Thanks in advance for sharing!

Guideline for Working with a Group's Stories - Part 8 of 9

8. Connect stories to one another

Treat each story as a building block that can be pieced together with another one to generate greater understanding. Stories left in isolation are like cold statues in abandoned temples erected as grand testimonies of heroic accomplishments but devoid of depth and significance. I developed a group facilitation technique called Story Collaging™ (described in Part II of this book) for helping groups see the connections between stories. Leave no stone unturned. As members of a group create a shared history, lots and lots of stories will naturally emerge. Your job is to remember these stories and constantly look for how they relate to one another. You are also tasked with inciting others in the group to do the same thing.

Stories are reflection in motion. One story leads to another and before you know it you have a mosaic of experiences crisscrossing with one another. Stories are like the tiny pieces of glass in a stained glass window. Every time the sun shines through new colors and shades of meaning emerge. Story listeners function like the sun in our image of a stained glass window. This is one of the most exciting things I do as a facilitator. I never know what will surface. The stronger the connections between the stories and the greater the number of connections between them directly correlates with the quality of learning.

Guideline for Working with a Group's Stories - Part 7 of 9

7. Be open, respectful, and non-judgmental of the stories people share

Treat all stories with respect. When someone shares a story they have given us a part of themselves. Handle it accordingly. The fragile pieces of our identity rest in our narratives. Never feel entitled to know anyone’s story. People will share what they want, when they are ready, and in a manner that does not violate their sense of themselves. However, you will be surprised at how willing and eager people are to exit the precarious myth of their separateness and embrace a sense of belonging granted by tying their experiences to those of others in a tapestry of shared consciousness.


The most vivid pictures we own are the stories in our hearts. Stories support a lattice of human experience. Each new story acts as a tendril tying us to the past, making the present significant, and giving shape to the future. Stories by their nature are a microcosm of who and how we are, so be sure you’re always respectful and non-judgmental. We can never fully understand the mysteries of someone else’s journey. Stories have no need to compete with one another and stories exist to coexist with each other. Act as an unbiased, self-aware, gracious curator and stories will usher in a cornucopia of delights and wisdom.

Guideline for Working with a Group's Stories - Part 6 of 9

6. Elicit more stories than you tell

The shortest distance between two people is a story. One of the chief reasons to tell a story is to elicit them. Stories act as triggers. We want to draw stories out of people. As the number of personal experiences shared increases, so does the quality and quantity of experiential learning. Even if someone does not share his or her story out loud, our story will set off a series of internal reflective events. People scan their index of personal experiences to find ones that match or resonate with the ones we tell them. It is not always a direct one-to-one correspondence. In other words, the stories we elicit in others will not always have an easy to see relationship to our own. We are after connections.

In order to elicit stories in others we need to work on three levels:

LEVEL NAME DESCRIPTION

LEVEL 1
Trust
• Building history with others
• Creating joint stories
• Having shared experiences

LEVEL 2
Climate of Sharing
• Willingness to share our own experiences and be vulnerable
• Inviting others to share
• Demonstrate resonance and understanding of others experiences
• Pacing

LEVEL 3
Attending
• Rephrasing questions
• Developing alternative questions
• Matching others’ language

Guideline for Working with a Group's Stories - Part 3 of 9

3. Be willing to be vulnerable with a group

Stories are not for the faint of heart. Stories open the space between us and others. They are a scared tool for deeper reflection and insight. We have to let go of our need to control the thoughts, reflections, and learning processes of others. In their truest sense, stories are not a behavioral tool for hitting the right button in others to produce a desired, predictable outcome. The experiential nature of story demands vulnerability. Are we willing to learn in front of others? Can we remove the artificial boundaries that we erect in learning environments to protect our authority? Stories broaden our awareness before they focus it. Imagine an hour glass. The top of the glass is wide. The sand drops down through a narrow crack before it falls into a wide basin below. Stories are similar in this respect. As we explore the interconnections between our stories and their relationship to other people’s experiences the learning environment might feel scattered and chaotic. People might ask, “Where is this going?” Inevitably you will ask yourself the same question. Until suddenly the story drops through the narrow hole of analytical discourse and opens into a new vista of insight and meaning. The story has been a catalyst for learning and is a new buoy for anchoring future ones. None of this is possible if we do not make ourselves vulnerable with a group. Sharing a personal story is a wonderful way of softening a group and modeling the openness stories require to work their magic.

StoryMatters - Season 2: Episode 6

StoryMatters™
Increasing Your ROI on Life's Lessons at Work
Terrence Gargiulo (MAKINGSTORIES.net) & Brian Remer (thefirefly.org)

StoryMatters is a format for maximizing learning from experience and applying it in the workplace. Stories are used to spark deeper conversations creating multiple layers of meaning that have relevance to team members. The StoryMatters process promotes a culture of continuous learning within an organization by modeling the skills of advocacy and inquiry. In this way, StoryMatters can become an invaluable tool for any learning organization.


StoryMatters: The Process

I. Read or tell three 99 word stories – these stories act as triggers to spark listeners' imaginations
II. Listeners recapitulate the stories to find index words that capture the essence of the stories
III. Listeners leverage the index words to find personal stories along the same theme
IV. Those stories are shared and people hearing them share their reactions
V. Conclude with a dialog and conversation of themes and relationships between stories





StoryMatters: Why it's Effective

• Stories are a common form of communication – people do not notice how often they tell stories – and how comfortable they are with stories.

• In conversation, we get ideas of our own stories but we don’t drill deep enough to derive much meaning from them.

• Offers a framework and format for active reflection and learning

• People react to the stories and build upon them

• Creating a story space heightens the possibility to make more stories present

• It’s the reflection of two or more people that makes the process work

• Stories don’t have to be complete with beginning, middle end – especially when the stories are collaged or combined

• Single stories have the danger of becoming one-dimensional and trite like Chicken Soup for the Soul.

• Only by putting stories together do you develop a three dimensional space of shared meaning

• The format gives everybody a chance to talk. This doesn’t always happen in conversation – even with just two people


StoryMatters: Tips and Tricks

• Use three or more stories to provide enough triggers for a rich conversation*

• Keep stories short, share the air time

• Leave stories open ended, avoid moralizing or insisting on a particular interpretation

• Give people time and space to develop their index words

• Leave 'em hungry, you don't have to tie up every loose end. People will continue the conversations that are meaningful to them off line.

• Be comfortable with ambiguity, trust that the time spent will be meaningful even if you don't know exactly where it will end up


What Do We Mean By Indexing

Stories are tagged with meta-data. Our experiences are stored in our minds as stories.
Loosely speaking, these stories have labels associated with them. Facilitating with stories requires us to be aware of how stories are triggered. The StoryMatters process stimulates people’s indexing schemes. It will help them expand their index and at other times to help them use their index scheme to relate their story to other stories. When our experiences are well indexed, we are able to see connections and relationships more easily. A strong index functions like a hub. New experiences and other people’s stories can be quickly plugged in. This of course leads to insights that can result in performance improvements.


So Why Three or More Short Stories

Stories in isolation are of limited value. Emergent sense-making is engaged by the interaction and inter-relationship between stories. The richness of stories and the insights to be gained are produced by the crisscrossing pattern of stories being related to one another.

Story-Based Communication

Here is a comparison of traditional forms of communication with story-based ones...

More Traditional Forms of Communication	Story-Based Communications
Explicit – information is presented in a direct, precise and clear manner.	Implicit – information is encoded in packets of compelling and memorable nuggets.
Logical – information is organized in an easy to follow linear fashion.	Evocative – information is more emotional in nature and lends itself to less structured types of presentations (including non-linear threads that can be followed and navigated based on people’s needs and interests).
Controlled – information is structured to leave as little as possible to people’s interpretation.	Emergent – information is meant to trigger people’s experiences, personal associations, and linkages.
Sense Giving – information is used to minimize uncertainty by offering tangible and discernable chunks of meaning.	Sense Making – information requires people to generate more of their own meaning and in some instances may leave people feeling uncertain as to the nature of the information until they do make sense of it for themselves.

Bear in mind both buckets are critical to the success of effective organizational communications. It’s just we tend to think of stories as another tool in the first bucket; we need to understand that stories operate best when they act as stimuli as opposed to information containers.

Stories achieve their greatest punch when they are used to create interlocking webs of meaning. A story used as a solitary chunk of communication is far less effective than when we find innovative ways to string associations of stories together. If one story paints a powerful picture what will several well integrated stories do, especially if we invite people to co-create them with us? Although this may seem counter intuitive, stories used to stimulate the storytelling of others yield the best results.

Think of story-based communication strategies as cloud chambers in your organization…

Cloud Chamber - apparatus that detects high-energy particles passing through a supersaturated vapor; each particle ionizes molecules along its path and small droplets condense on them to produce a visible track (definition courtesy of www.answer.com)

Stories act as organizational cloud chambers. They create a space of dialogue and sense making. This “story space” is where people interact with each other’s stories in different ways. Some interactions might occur as people reflect and react to organizational collaterals peppered with stories, some interactions might happen when we create formal and informal opportunities for people to respond to the stories we use to incite dialogue, and still other interactions, once we have put the initial stories out there, will happen without us doing anything whatsoever to orchestrate them. As stories elicit more stories by bouncing off of each other, organizational trajectories of meaning and understanding emerge. People’s actions provide a visible albeit subtle and ghostly trace of the impact of story-based communications.

Stories are not another lever in a machine. Machines or systems take known controlled inputs that produce reliable and consistent outputs. Stories are more chaotic. Once you stir up or perturbate the social fabric of individual nodes of sense making (aka the people in an organization) unexpected behaviors emerge. What is lost in control is gained in the propagating strength of the communication signal and the rolling waves of self-directed behaviors it has the potential to create. Communications function less like instructions and more like picture frames waiting to be filled with collages of vibrant photographs.

Initial Thoughts on Stories

Here are some thoughts that give shape to some of the ways I have come to think about stories...

Stories are fundamental to how we communicate, learn and think.

The shortest distance between two people is a story.

Stories are less about telling and more about listening and eliciting.

The only reason to tell is a story is to trigger more stories and insights from within ourselves or draw out (elicit) the stories of thers.

We have all the story equipment to connect with yourself and others in rich ways. How often are we using it? Do we use it in conscious and purposeful ways? Do we create environments that encourage others to share their stories?

Stories go beyond the obvious ways that we use them to encode information.

Play with the counter-intuitive notions that stories are implicit in nature; encoding messages clear cut messages to move learning, emotions, ideas or values is only the tip of the iceberg and perhaps the least important capacity of stories.

To be called a story - a story does not need to have a clear beginning, middle and end or recognizable story trajectory. By accepting this we are neither negating story in its obvious forms or diluting the notion of stories.

Stories create spaces of trust and relationships. They are living entities made real and present by the reflecting, remembering, and imagining of people engaged with each other.

Stories achieve their greatest power in concert with each other.

Stories are emergent in nature.

Through stories we enact versus announce our intentions.

Our actions impregnate the moment with new stories creating possibilities and ripples of sense making and future sense giving of others.